One Year in Odessa, Texas

On July 24, 2013 I came to Odessa for the first time ever, and this is where I've stayed. One of the things you realize is that it has nothing to do with Dallas, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, or even the border cities in South Texas. Cities in the Golden Triangle are sunken in the woods, and there are areas inside the cities where there is nothing but forest, and it looks nice, while Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley have planted palm trees all around as well as planted trees in their neighborhoods. Odessa only has planted trees in the neighborhoods, but not everywhere else as we're close to a desert. We do not have those huge nice freeways and overpasses, but I've got a job.

The economy in the area is driven by oil. As fracking (a technique used to pump oil out of rocks) was made possible, we've got the lowest unemployment rate in Texas and people have been moving in here as well as neighboring Midland (a nicer city). This is not a nice city overall, but it does have a few nice places (which are growing due to the booming economy). I really miss Monterrey, Mexico, but being able to do what I believe I was meant to do and being able to live without any financial aid or support from my parents is a blessing. 

I got here with less than 2,700K. I only had 15 dollars left before my first paycheck (about 38 days later). During this first year I traveled to Monterrey and Dallas twice, once to Austin and New York, and I made a road trip to El Paso, Alamogordo, Cloudcroft, White Sands, Santa Fe, Angel Fire, and Amarillo. Besides this, I paid a car and my teaching internship. I made some new friends and met lots of new people. I say this once more, it has been a blessing and I look forward to extend it as long as possible. If I know you and you want to come here (or elsewhere in Texas with the same program), let me know.

Aquí en Juárez, esquina con Xicoténcatl

Cuando vas a Nueva York por primera vez y ya conoces Texas relativamente bien te das cuenta de que es un muy buen lugar para ir a visitar. De hecho, me queda pendiente regresar a ver en Central Park en otoño cuando los árboles estén color naranja, amarillo y rojo y en invierno, cuando tengan el pino de Navidad puesto en el Rockefeller Center.

A cada media hora se escucha la sirena de la ambulancia, de los bomberos o de la policía. Cuando pasa por lugares concurridos como Times Square, el ruidazo puede durar unos 10 minutos, es una locura. Estoy seguro es que el vivir en un suburbio de Dallas o Houston es una verdadera bendición: 

Jamás viviría en Nueva York aunque me pagaran por ello. Esta ciudad se parece mucho más al DeFe que a Texas, con la única diferencia de que hay edificios en cada manzana. Muchos de los parques chicos y lo sucio de las calles me recuerdan a la Ciudad de México y no, jamás me iría a vivir al DeFe. Incluso en Odessa, que es famosa por petróleo y dinero mas no por turismo es mucho mejor lugar para vivir que Manhattan. A la próxima que vaya a Nueva York voy a checar si Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island o The Bronx me hacen cambiar un poco de opinión. Lo único que no extrañé de Texas fue el calor, pero ¡ah cómo extraño Monterrey!